Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has cemented himself as one of the NFL's premier coaches. The intense coach has a penchant for getting the most out of his players and knows how to motivate and game plan.
While Campbell seems like a prototypical NFL coach, he recently revealed that coaching was not always his plan.
Campbell appeared on the Dallas radio program "The Hardline" and was reflecting on his career. When one of the hosts mentioned how far Campbell has come, the coach said he never thought about coaching earlier in life.
“I never thought of coaching — not really, you know," he said. "My whole vision of it was coming into the game plan and the coach is walking out with bedhead, (because) they slept up in their office, got the game plan ready, and it’s like they don’t ever go home until maybe Saturday. I’m like, 'Man, that’s just not for me.'”
However, this line of thinking changed once his playing career was over.
“Pretty soon, you can’t play anymore. And you love the sport and everything about it, you’re like, ‘You know what? Maybe this is for me,’” he added. “I enjoy the grind, I enjoy the game. I respect the hell out of the game. I love the guys, being around our players and coaches. I love the chess match and the grind of it.”
Campbell also mentioned that coaching is not exactly how it was 20 years ago. For example, the coach stressed the importance of sleep instead of staying up late to try and problem-solve.
“There was a time where more was more, and that’s not the case,” Campbell said. “If you don’t get sleep, your creativity is lost. Man, I can’t tell you the number of nights as a young coach, you’re sitting there trying to solve a problem and I’m not kidding you, two hours I’m on the same problem... and I go to bed, and I wake up and within five minutes, I’ve got it.”
While Campbell may not have planned on being a coach, Lions fans are certainly happy he decided to. Campbell and his team are now preparing to make another run at the NFC crown and Super Bowl in 2024.
